Temple moving forward with New Stadium (35K)

[ZetaZetaBeta]

Look at the photo of the lot proposed for the Temple Stadium. It's smaller than OC Lot.
OC Lot can hold a 50K or 60K Stadium without a second deck. Luxury Boxes above the Cost Center. I measured it all with a few undergrad engineers.

Parking behind the Cost Center at the Old Baseball Field site and behind the Peterson field complex will hold over 10,000 cars on a game day. I've measured it also.

www.newpittstadium.com

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sports/college/Temple-presses-ahead-to-build-a-new-football-stadium-02.html

 

[9nationalchampionships]

35k .....no thanks.

 

[ZetaZetaBeta]

35k .....no thanks.

Please read my entire thread. Thanks. We build a New Pitt Stadium at 50-60K.

 

[JohnnyGossamer]

Again, if Pitt ever does this, go the route Minnesota went. I do want something cheap a la Houston, Temple, UCF, etc. Those places look crap. Just total crap. Build something quality or don't do it at all.

 

[pbrad]

I see a lot of so called studies of an on campus stadium, what about associated traffic studies.

 

[ZetaZetaBeta]

What a stupid idea for an urban school to build something so trivial as a football stadium. Why not a new science building or a dorm or a water garden? I mean, football? Who cares about football when alums can come back and gather in a new science building?

Minnesota, Tulane, Charlotte, Houston, TCU, Stanford, UCF, Colorado State, and now maybe Temple are ao stupid for taking up campus space for a stadium. Playing off campus is the way to go.

Not true. It is not only a recruiting tool, but it is an admissions recruiting tool as well. As high school seniors in the USA shrink in numbers in the next two decades, these stadiums are just another attraction to them. The game day atmosphere sells. ESPN outside your own stadium on campus. Great publicity. If you build it, they will come. Look at the use of the "Pete" by undergrads. If we do it right, The New Pitt Stadium could be a multi-purpose use for the entire Pitt campus!

 

[HailtoPitt]

The Pittsburgh Athletic Association building would make a nice front entrance to a new Pitt Stadium!

 

[ZetaZetaBeta]

I see a lot of so called studies of an on campus stadium, what about associated traffic studies.

www.newpittstadium.com

Pitt has already done the studies. At the website, there is a contact info for Pitt's Transportation Office. I'm sure it I public record. IMHO, if you put parking behind the Cost Center, you create an entire new entry point for the New Pitt Stadium at the OC Lot. It alleviates traffic flow problems on Forbes Avenue and Fifth Avenue. The new firm studying the Pitt Athletic Footprint Plan: Populous is already making this traffic study.

 

[ZetaZetaBeta]

The Pittsburgh Athletic Association building would make a nice front entrance to a new Pitt Stadium!

That site actually works well. The great building can be incorporated with new stadium and extend to the old Syrian Mosque site and parking lot. The Holiday Inn can fit in the plan as well.

 

[upj87]

Please read my entire thread. Thanks. We build a New Pitt Stadium at 50-60K.

better by closer to 50k than 60k.. 48k sounds about right to me...

 

[CorsosRevenge]

If we had any sense of humor we would build a 52,000 seat stadium then never schedule WVU.

 

[ViciousHitter]

"Playing off campus is the way to go" my goodness what an insane statement!

 

[CorsosRevenge]

Some of you really struggle with sarcasm.

 

[Swervin27]

Sarcasm font "not pleased"

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Here's the deal. If we build it on the site of the Syria Mosque, Alumni Hall has to go. There is no possible way it would fit if AH is still standing. I have google map'd it, overlaying Rutgers's stadium.

The PAA can probably stay and stand in the corner of the open-end endzone, which would actually give the stadium a neat "Camden Yards" look.

However, the 2 blocks which contain Alumni Hall, Holiday Inn, UPMC office building, and Clapp/Langley/Crawford would have to be demolished. I know Paco is going to have a coronary when he reads that but keep in mind, I mean that new classrom/office space would have to be built elsewhere to make up for these losses.

To buy the UPMC building and Holiday Inn express plus demolish the others and build the stadium, you are probably looking at a bear minimum of $500 million, not including the money that would need spent on new classroom buildings to replace Clapp/Langley/Crawford. But interest rates are at all time lows so I say land some whale donors and issue munis.

 

[HailtoPitt]

Here's the deal. If we build it on the site of the Syria Mosque, Alumni Hall has to go. There is no possible way it would fit if AH is still standing. I have google map'd it, overlaying Rutgers's stadium.

The PAA can probably stay and stand in the corner of the open-end endzone, which would actually give the stadium a neat "Camden Yards" look.

However, the 2 blocks which contain Alumni Hall, Holiday Inn, UPMC office building, and Clapp/Langley/Crawford would have to be demolished. I know Paco is going to have a coronary when he reads that but keep in mind, I mean that new classrom/office space would have to be built elsewhere to make up for these losses.

To buy the UPMC building and Holiday Inn express plus demolish the others and build the stadium, you are probably looking at a bear minimum of $500 million, not including the money that would need spent on new classroom buildings to replace Clapp/Langley/Crawford. But interest rates are at all time lows so I say land some whale donors and issue munis.

I believe that they could do it and keep both Alumni Hall and the PAA. The hotel and UPMC office building would need to go, and that would be a large enough footprint for a modest stadium. They might also be able to acquire the properties across Bigelow, based on the current ownership. Else, Nordy can stare at the back of a scoreboard from his front porch. Schenley Farm legal stuff would be an issue.

 

[CorsosRevenge]

I'm telling you

Make a deal to acquire Dan Marino Field and some adjacent properties.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

it is fun to dream, but the city or state would never approve it. they want to see traffic and parking plans and there is no way you could make that work in the heart of Oakland. Heck getting out of Oakland after a December game at the Pete is a mess. They won't even go for closing Bigelow blvd, why would they ever go for this?

 

[HailtoPitt]

it is fun to dream, but the city or state would never approve it. they want to see traffic and parking plans and there is no way you could make that work in the heart of Oakland. Heck getting out of Oakland after a December game at the Pete is a mess. They won't even go for closing Bigelow blvd, why would they ever go for this?

They would approve it if they want Pitt to play ball for the proposed transportation initiatives.

 

[ThePanthers]

it is fun to dream, but the city or state would never approve it. they want to see traffic and parking plans and there is no way you could make that work in the heart of Oakland. Heck getting out of Oakland after a December game at the Pete is a mess. They won't even go for closing Bigelow blvd, why would they ever go for this?

All the engineers and financial analyst on this board says so! It's that easy!

 

[CaptainMurphy]

It will happen, but I don't think within the next 20 years and probably not where any of us are expecting it. The site adjacent to the PAA is just too shoehorned in there...

 

[Swervin27]

A cool little stadium open on the water side, down by the hazelwood project would have been so cool. Connected by a little tram running up the hollow. maybe have some university offices/labs in there as well so you can justify the expense of a 200 million dollar elevated tram running up the mountain thru the hollow.

I know it's impossible, land is bought and owned, god forbid if we don't build some more "high end condos" surrounded by retail stores.. Hazelwood needs more Baby Gaps, Apple store, Wilson Leathers with the obligatory Bar Louie..

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

A cool little stadium open on the water side, down by the hazelwood project would have been so cool. Connected by a little tram running up the hollow. maybe have some university offices/labs in there as well so you can justify the expense of a 200 million dollar elevated tram running up the mountain thru the hollow.

I know it's impossible, land is bought and owned, god forbid if we don't build some more "high end condos" surrounded by retail stores.. Hazelwood needs more Baby Gaps, Wilson Leathers with the obligatory Bar Louie..

this was probably the most realistic option

 

[HailtoPitt]

A cool little stadium open on the water side, down by the hazelwood project would have been so cool. Connected by a little tram running up the hollow. maybe have some university offices/labs in there as well so you can justify the expense of a 200 million dollar elevated tram running up the mountain thru the hollow.

I know it's impossible, land is bought and owned, god forbid if we don't build some more "high end condos" surrounded by retail stores.. Hazelwood needs more Baby Gaps, Apple store, Wilson Leathers with the obligatory Bar Louie..

Maybe we could have had Uber Stadium, with self driving buses and cars taking people there through the Hollow from campus. It could be a model for the rest of the world.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I believe that they could do it and keep both Alumni Hall and the PAA. The hotel and UPMC office building would need to go, and that would be a large enough footprint for a modest stadium. They might also be able to acquire the properties across Bigelow, based on the current ownership. Else, Nordy can stare at the back of a scoreboard from his front porch. Schenley Farm legal stuff would be an issue.

That site you are proposing is way too small without tearing down Alumni Hall and the Clapp/Langley/Crawford block. Im not sure we could fit in a 20K seat stadium with that proposal.

 

[CaptainMurphy]

A cool little stadium open on the water side, down by the hazelwood project would have been so cool. Connected by a little tram running up the hollow. maybe have some university offices/labs in there as well so you can justify the expense of a 200 million dollar elevated tram running up the mountain thru the hollow.

I know it's impossible, land is bought and owned, god forbid if we don't build some more "high end condos" surrounded by retail stores.. Hazelwood needs more Baby Gaps, Apple store, Wilson Leathers with the obligatory Bar Louie..

Yeah, I certainly don't know everything involved but it seems like Pitt missed the boat big time with the Almono site. I would have liked to see them buy up the entire site and make it our second campus, kind of like WVU and Rutgers. I'm sure it would have been a hugely expensive undertaking (especially given how polluted the site is/was) but how often are large swaths of land made available nearby to Oakland? Maybe they weren't given the opportunity to buy the land, I don't know. Perhaps this is another example of local cronyism, not sure. But I do know that crap that is planned for the site (office/residential/etc...) is the same stuff that seems to occupy every inch of available riverfront these days. We don't need another South Side Works or Strip District or Carrie furnace site. A green campus and a walkable riverfront would have been a pretty amazing addition to the university, stadium or not.

As of now, the focus of the site looks to be a deconstructed mill building. Seems like an awful waste of space to me.

 

[Swervin27]

Maybe we could have had Uber Stadium, with self driving buses and cars taking people there through the Hollow from campus.

that was part of my grand plan. Would have made it happen but I was missing a few key ingredients like money, political connections, technology, university support, engineering plans, geological surveys, infrastructure..

 

[Piranha]

1) Tarp the Upper Deck on the side opposite the camera of Heinz.

2) Mass Transit into and around the city should be on everyone's agenda. It will benefit CMU, Pitt, Carlow, Chatham, people that work in the city, the Steelers, Pens, Pirates, businesses, etc.

 

[TD_istheman]

"Playing off campus is the way to go" my goodness what an insane statement!

They don't mean that, they are just covering for Pitt, defenders to the end, even when the argument is not defensible.

 

[heybandguy]

I was only in old Pitt stadium once. For those of you who were there more often, was it at capacity on a regular basis when Pitt was in it's prime? I am not opposed to an on-campus stadium, but I think the amount of seating it holds has to be considered. Outside of few select games since going to Heinz, it doesn't seem like Pitt has sold out or even been uncomfortably packed during the bulk of games (and granted, I would acknowledge the product on the field hasn't always been great so that does keep people away). Is anything over 45K truly necessary based upon attendance figures. Thanks in advance for your perspective.

 

[Piranha]

I was only in old Pitt stadium once. For those of you who were there more often, was it at capacity on a regular basis when Pitt was in it's prime? I am not opposed to an on-campus stadium, but I think the amount of seating it holds has to be considered. Outside of few select games since going to Heinz, it doesn't seem like Pitt has sold out or even been uncomfortably packed during the bulk of games (and granted, I would acknowledge the product on the field hasn't always been great so that does keep people away). Is anything over 45K truly necessary based upon attendance figures. Thanks in advance for your perspective.

No - student and overall attendance is actually better at Heinz. Pitt Stadium was a dump, and the amenities at Heinz blow Pitt Stadium out of the water.

 

[eastcoasthoops]

No - student and overall attendance is actually better at Heinz. Pitt Stadium was a dump, and the amenities at Heinz blow Pitt Stadium out of the water.

Don't start bringing facts into this never ending emotional pipe dream.

 

[Ski11585]

My favorite part of the OP is "I measured it."

Yeah, you and your undergrad engineer students creeping around at midnight with tape measures really makes me feel confident in your plan.

 

[eastcoasthoops]

My favorite part of the OP is "I measured it."

Yeah, you and your undergrad engineer students creeping around at midnight with tape measures really makes me feel confident in your plan.

They "stepped it off." lol

 

[CaptainMurphy]

No - student and overall attendance is actually better at Heinz. Pitt Stadium was a dump, and the amenities at Heinz blow Pitt Stadium out of the water.

Yup, even most those of us that want to see football back on campus someday have to realize that Pitt Stadium could not be saved. At best, Pitt would have had to rip everything out down to the hillside and start from scratch. I think it was rather short-sighted that Pitt chose to build a basketball arena on the site, given how much easier it would have been to find an arena site. But yeah, Pitt Stadium was a crumbling dump of a stadium, even if it was a great place to watch football.

 

[HailtoPitt]

No - student and overall attendance is actually better at Heinz. Pitt Stadium was a dump, and the amenities at Heinz blow Pitt Stadium out of the water.

Why do you think more students have traveled to Heinz instead of walking for 5 minutes to get to Pitt Stadium?

 

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

As I see it and would welcome it..................BUT..............Temple needs to build a Stadium to get into a Power Conference and has the Land to Redevelop Part of North Philadelphia .......and Pitt needs to Win a Power Conference Division a few years in a row and then the ACC Power Conference 5 too..............before thoughts move towards an Oakland Stadium!

Again, would love to see it now but winning must take place at a higher pace is the more important goal right now?

So Little Done So Much More To Do!

 

[Panthergrowl13]

Heinz Field and amenities near Heinz (Hotels, Casino, Restaurants, Bars etc) cannot be duplicated in Oakland... Visiting fans love the game day experience.

HAIL TO PITT!!!!

 

[TD_istheman]

We are kicking asssss in recruiting at ketchup , oh wait, just another Pederson lie

 

[CaptainMurphy]

im a big proponent of an on campus stadium and even I have to admit, pitt stadium had some horrible crowds, even during some good years. Im talking like high20k and this is around the late 80s when we had some good but not great teams. 28k at Heinz would look like one of those high school wpial games..

I think fans got so used to winning in the 70s-80s that when the downturn started, everyone aside from the diehards jumped ship. By 96, they were lucky to ever get 30K for a game. You see the same thing for the Steelers when they are having a sub-par season. The fans did come back to Pitt Stadium during and after the 97 season where we normally saw over 40K and sometimes 50K+ for the big games.